Somanna chides CM over remarks about attempts to unseat him

Union Minister V. Somanna chided Chief Minister Siddaramaiah for his warning against attempts to unseat him.

“Mr. Siddaramaiah has said the people of the State would not sit quiet if he was touched. What does he mean by that? Will the police let anyone touch him? Even if you do, will they let you go away? Mr. Siddaramaiah is a senior leader and I can only ask him to introspect on his statements,” Mr. Somanna told reporters in Belagavi.

Mr. Siddaramaiah made the statement on Wednesday when he spoke of the BJP’s attempts to encourage defection of the Congress MLAs to its side. He alleged that the BJP was offering ₹50 crore to 50 MLAs to lure them. He warned that if anyone tried to touch him, the people of the State would not sit quiet.

Mr. Somanna did not respond to queries about the BJP’s alleged attempt to engineer a defection to its side. He said he would assure the people of Belagavi of an overnight Vande Bharat train to Bengaluru. He said he would also speed up work on the direct railway line between Dharwad and Belagavi via Kittur. This was the dream project of Suresh Angadi, former Union Minister. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen to get it completed on time. I will also review the work on the Lokapur-Dharwad line. Belagavi DC Mohammad Roshan is working hard to complete of pending railway projects, Mr. Somanna said.

He held a review meeting with officials of the south western railway zone and the district administration. Iranna Kadadi, MP, and others were present.

Published - November 14, 2024 07:53 pm IST